Chocolate makers stoke Indian cocoa bean boom

If not for the squirrels, George Matthew’s attempt to become a cocoa bean producer may have failed.

His agricultural career began in the 1970s when he inherited a rubber plantation in the southern Indian state of Kerala, which he ran alongside his career as a doctor.

It was a bad time to inherit a rubber plantation, as falling rubber prices kept them losing money. So, 10 years ago, Dr. Matthew decided to experiment with cocoa trees, hoping they would generate some money to support the rest of the farm.

He bought some seedlings and planted them. Things didn’t go well.

“The operation was not that successful,” he says. “Most of the seedlings died.”

Squirrels seem to make the situation worse by grabbing the cocoa bean pods and eating them.

But those raids had an unexpected benefit, as the cocoa seeds spread throughout the farm.

“All the scattered seeds quickly grew into plants and were healthier and stronger than the seedlings I planted,” says Dr. Matthew.

“The trick was to plant the seeds,” he realized.

Today Mr Matthews has 6,000 cocoa trees on his 50 acres of land.

“I think this was the best decision I made,” he says.

Although there are many regions with suitable climatic conditions for cocoa trees, India produces only 1% of the world’s cocoa bean production.

West Africa currently dominates global production, with Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana producing between them More than half of the world’s annual production.

Indian farmers can only supply a quarter of the amount of beans needed by makers of chocolate and other Indian sweets.

“The challenge is that they are grown on very fragmented small holdings, so they don’t get the attention that cocoa should get,” says Rene Jacob, chairman of India Cocoa, a private company that has been growing and processing cocoa beans for more than a year. From 30 years.

In particular, he says, Indian farmers are poor at handling grains after they are harvested. Once removed from their pods, the beans go through a fermentation process on the farm, which can make a big difference in their flavor.

“Cocoa fermentation is a crucial process in chocolate production, where raw cocoa beans are transformed into a form suitable for making chocolate,” says Sareen Partrick, CEO, India Cocoa.

“This complex process involves several stages and the activity of various microorganisms, which help develop the flavour, aroma and color of the grain,” he says.

To increase the quantity and quality of cocoa bean production, the government has introduced several initiatives.

It is investing in plans to develop hybrid cocoa plants, which are more productive than existing varieties.

In addition, there are plans to train farmers in the latest techniques for growing and processing beans.

“There is a huge opportunity for Indian farmers to get into cocoa farming and reap the benefits,” says Dr. Femina, who works in the government department charged with developing cocoa production.

Companies are also investing in new varieties of cocoa trees.

Dr Minimol JS is the head of cocoa research at Kerala Agricultural University and works with Cadbury to develop hybrid cocoa trees.

In the project orchard, high-performance varieties are crossed with exotic species.

So far, the program has identified 15 new species.

“These are the first disease-resistant hybrid seeds in India,” she says.

“The seeds are drought-tolerant varieties and have withstood temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius, which is not usually possible,” she adds.

Hybrids are also more productive than traditional varieties.

“The global average production is 0.25 kilograms per year per tree.

“In Kerala, we get 2.5 kg per year per tree. In Andhra and Telangana, we get a yield of four or five kg per tree per year,” she says.

India’s production of cocoa beans has increased significantly. Production this year reached 110,000 tons, an increase of 40% over 2015. But it is still not enough to meet the demand from local chocolate and sweets makers.

The Indian Cocoa Board estimates that demand from the industry is rising by 15% annually.

Founded in 2019, Cocotraite is one of the new generation of Indian chocolate makers.

The company is based in Chennai on the east coast, and uses only Indian cocoa beans.

One reason for this is that locally sourced beans have a much lower carbon footprint than beans shipped from another continent.

In addition, Nitin Chordia, founder of Cocorite, says Indian beans are cheaper than imports and have a distinct flavour.

Mr. Cordia also runs an agricultural school, where farmers are shown the latest innovations in brewing and drying beans.

“We are constantly focusing on improving post-harvest practices of cocoa farmers in India,” he says.

He adds that Indian farmers need to produce higher quality grains.

“We are unable to compete with international players in the bulk cocoa bean segment,” he says.

Although there has been improvement, Indian producers still have a long way to go.

“Over the past decade, in the premium flavor cocoa bean segment, India has started to gain attention…but it will take several years before all Indian premium flavor cocoa beans reach the stage of widespread international recognition.”

Back in Kerala, Dr Mathew reflects on his decade as a cocoa farmer.

“It’s a tough plant,” he says. “Last year I had no crop. So no farmer can depend only on cocoa – one has to plant other trees with it.”

Despite the challenges, he is optimistic. “The future is bright, with great demand.”

“A multinational company has approached me to sell my production to them, so I will make a good profit.”